


How Bucky Got His Name

by LaurenElizabeth



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Other, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-29
Updated: 2015-05-29
Packaged: 2018-04-01 21:43:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4035610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaurenElizabeth/pseuds/LaurenElizabeth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A humorous recollection of Steve Rogers about the day Jimmy Barnes got his nickname, Bucky.</p><p>(an excerpt from a larger work that may not ever be posted but I liked this part enough to post)</p>
            </blockquote>





	How Bucky Got His Name

**Author's Note:**

> come hang with me on tumblr where i can be found flipping a shit over steve rogers: laurentreks.tumblr.com
> 
> fair warning i get obsessed with something new about every 6 months or so....enjoy the ride ;)

Bucky hadn't earned his nickname, Jimmy didn’t become Bucky, until they were friends for almost a year. It started the day that Steve overheard Buck’s mammie hollering at him for messing up his little sisters’ drawings of ducklings that they had done after a trip to a farm (one of the Barnes’ cousins owned it upstate). Of course Jimmy hadn't done it on purpose, he loved his sisters something fierce, but he had been running through the apartment to get clean clothes on before his mammie could get after him for messing up his only pair of unpatched pants, and he had tripped and got mud all over Becca’s and Dot’s drawings in the kids’ room.

Steve had been right outside, as muddy as Jimmy but not about to get in trouble for it (Steve’s momma was still a little too excited he had a friend to get muddy with), and he heard Mrs. Barnes yelling at ‘James Buchanan Barnes!’ about how hard the girls had worked on their little drawings and that they had only had that paint set up at the farm and now they can't make new ones etc.. Steve waited for Mrs. Barnes to stop and then Jimmy came out with his head hanging low, obviously feeling real bad about messing up the pictures.

“Steve I gotta tell Becca and Dot myself… Mammie says I’ll probably make them cry and it ain’t even like I did it on purpose!” Jimmy said sadly, “I gotta go find ‘em so I can’t keep playing. I’ll see you after school tomorrow.”

Steve had been wondering how he was gonna tease not-yet-Bucky/Jimmy about his name being after one of the President’s they had just learned about, but with this announcement, he said his goodbyes, and left for the day, deciding to think on what would be funniest to say for tomorrow, when Jimmy was less upset.

The next day after school Steve still hadn’t come up with anything real clever so he followed Jimmy home so they could do their homework at the Barnes’ big table, like they did everyday. The girls were out helping collect fabric scraps for old Mrs. Barnes (Mr. Barnes’ mother) and her latest quilt, so Steve and Jimmy were working hard for almost an hour before they got back.

Dot had gone right upstairs to play, but Becca stuck around to talk to her big brother.

“Jimmy,” cried Becca, “you gotta come play with us now!”

“Becca, I gotta finish my work with Steve and then we were gonna play stickball over on the next block! I ain’t got time to play with you today,” not-yet-Bucky told her.

“But Jimmy,” Becca whined, “You promised in front of Mammie to me and Dot you’d be a ducky when we’re playing farmhouse! You’re the only one who can quack right!” she said insistently.

And at that moment, Steve started laughing, uproariously laughing, because he had finally found a clever comment about Jimmy’s name, and it wasn’t even about how funny it was that Buchanan was his middle name.

Becca and Jimmy both looked up, shocked, at the sudden, and almost violent laughter coming from Steve.

“Steve, buddy,” Jimmy said cautiously, “Are you okay?”

All Steve could do was gasp out between laughs “Bucky, your new name is Bucky.”

“What?” the newly-christened Bucky asked, looking at his sister who shrugged, not getting it either.

Steve’s laughter calmed down after another minute and he finally said “I heard your mammie hollering yesterday, Bucky,” Steve said with a giggle. “And I never heard your middle name before then, and all day yesterday and today I’ve been thinking about it ‘cause it’s after a President hardly no one remembers and I was tryin’ ta think of something clever to say ‘bout it, but Becca did it for me. You ain’t a ducky, but Bucky works,” Steve said with a mischievous grin. “Now that I’m thinking ‘bout it more it even almost seems like a nickname for Buchanan,” Steve said thoughtfully before descending into giggles.

After about a minute of just staring at Steve, Bucky started to speak, “What on Eart-“

“I like it.” Becca interrupted.

“What?” said Bucky, turning to Becca with an incredulous look on his face.

“I said I like it,” Becca announced, moving her hands onto her hips. “And you know what James Buchanan Barnes, I ain’t gonna call you nothing else but Bucky from now on. You’re just gonna have to deal with it. You ruined my pictures of the duckies, and now you’re going to be my big brother named Bucky to make up for it!”

Bucky just ogled at her, stupefied at what had just happened in the last five minutes. After about a minute and a half, with his jaw still hanging low he turned to Steve, who was shaking with suppressed laughter, and asked quietly, “Did I just get re-named? After baby ducks?”

Steve lost it once more, and fell of his chair because he was laughing so hard. Becca began laughing soon after, and Mrs. Barnes walked in the door, back from the neighbor’s apartment, to see her son looking blank at the head of the table, Steve still laughing on the floor and Becca giggling as she danced around the room talking about things she was going to do with someone named ‘Bucky’.

“Do I even want to know what happened while I was out?” she asked, triggering a new peal of laughter from Steve, a pleading stare in her direction from her son and Becca, turning with a squeal, to run over and begin telling her mammie all about how Jimmy was now called Bucky.


End file.
